Die with Honor
by Lackluster Brilliance
Summary: 2035, and the world is at war. The United States is officially waging war on seven different country, while really fighting a global war. First Lieutenant Aubrey Posen has seen it all, done it all, and now is back to train a new group of recruits to take overseas to die. With this job, the only thing that ever changes is the faces of the masses.
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings mortals, you're king has returned! So I know I should PROBABLY be working on my other fics, but eh. When was the last time I did what I probably should have done though? So yeah, I'm going to give myself even more work. And yes, I'm working on the supernatural fic... I'm just having a rough time getting a plot together that actually makes sense to people other then me. Alright, enough rambling, now what this is.**

**Mortals, this is awesomeness at its finest. I've wanted to write this fic for quite the while actually. If you haven't guess from the summary, this will be a military fic. WARNING! I'm going to kill at least half of the major characters in this, along with ashit ton of just random people. I know, spoilers and all, but I think a fair notice is an order. I won't say who, when, or how, but just know it will happen. I'm sorry, but I don't feel like people complaining to me later when I kill their fave character off. Also, this is going to be in true King Alex style. Lots of angst, lots of emotionally fucked up people, so yeah. Just be careful reading. Alright, and so I now end this ridiculously long A/N. Enjoy mortals.**

**Wait, one last thing. I'm an Air Force girl mortals, so I'm not COMPLETELY familiar with Army ranks or CoC. If you see something wrong, please tell me! I've spent my hours studying the Air Force chain of command, not the Army, however, for this fic, the Army will better suit the plot then Air Force. Sad, but true, so yerp. I hope wikipedia is right about all this. Also, I'll be using some military jargon and shit, so if you have any question PM me, or leave a review, and I'll do my best! Now I'm done.**

**I own nothing.**

* * *

The military attracts all sorts of people, from all walks of life. People typically don't just understand how diverse the population really is. You have your rich kids, your poor slum kids, and your middle classers, but that's not how we classify people here in the Army, at least, not how I do. I don't give a shit how much you're daddy makes, or where you come from. What I care about is why you joined, why you willingly sold you're soul to the devil.

Whatever that reason is, THAT is how I'm going to judge you. Everyone says that they join because it's their civic duty or some shit, but really, that's a load of bullshit. In reality, there are thousands of reasons that people willingly sell their souls to the devil. And sure, not all of the jobs require you to go to the front lines, fighting the bad guys, and in those jobs, you'll see the students, the really smart guys ones who don't know what to do with themselves and think 'fuck it, why not?'. The guys with the degrees in technology and do the logistical shit. These are usually the only ones who can leave the service with their soul intact. Those are the ones who sit behind a desk, pushing pencils while people like me get shot at and killed. Not saying their jobs aren't important, because they are. They supply me and my men with the tools of war. I'm just saying they don't know shit about being a soldier. They can wear the same uniform as me, but it will never, ever mean the same thing.

Should you go to the front lines, should you talk to those who have seen their friends killed before their very eyes, forced to watch helplessly as their friend their battle buddy, their brothers die in front of them, you'll see what killing does to a soul. All a soldier is, is a professional killer. It only takes the first kill, the first death, for those who think this is their 'higher calling' their 'civic duty' to realize, that there is no glory in war. There are no winners, there are no losers. There is only the dead and the broken.

The guys who think being a soldier is their civic duty, their job to protect their homeland? Those are the ones who go first. Those idiots who think they can be the hero. Hollywood and the government has fed them lies, and they foolishly believed them. A one man army is absolutely ridiculous. You alone will not make a difference. You're just cannon fodder, a replacement for the poor schmuck who died before you. Those people who told you that you were special and could change the world? Guess what buddy, they lied to you. Now pick up your gun and let's go. There is a reason we say there is no I in team. When I find bastards like that in my platoons, I give them a pistol with one bullet in the chamber. After all, there are quicker and easier ways to die then to waltz into a hostile war zone and claim you're the savior of the people. Also then I have less paperwork to deal with.

Now, sure there are those who genuinely believe it's their civic duty or something, but those only make up a small percent of the population. Those men and women are a rare breed, and sometimes, they give me hope in humanity. They have their higher calling, and they want to make a positive impact on this fucked up shitty ass world, to use their talents for the greater good. I used to admire these people. Then I watched them get mowed down by machine gun fire, or watched as their convoy explodes, and I realize, humanity has no hope. Those idiots are just misguided fools who believed a big fat pack of lies.

There are those who enlist for revenge too. Perhaps some terrorist attack killed a family member, and they think that by joining up, they can ease the pain in their souls. I think I pity these the most. They think that perhaps if they kill enough enemies, fight hard enough, perhaps they will someday find peace. These poor souls don't realize that every kill tears their already battered souls up more. Every kill, every time they have to pull that trigger, they go further down the road of madness. Eventually, they burn themselves out, and if they cannot find a new purpose, a new reason to live, they die. They're like campfires. For a while, they burn brightly, but then they slowly burn out, with nothing but smouldering embers left. Eventually, those too die, and leave nothing but ash behind. Sometimes, these can be saved, they can find their will, their reason to live once more, however, this doesn't usually happen. The military isn't where you go to find you're happily ever after.

Then there are the one who are so inept at all else, that the military is their only option left. For them, this is just another job, or at least, it is when they start. It only takes the first raid for them to shit their pants and realize the kind of shit they got themselves into. I hate these the most. Cowards like them, they disgust me. Not only are they a useless, but they are also a liability to me and to the team. These are the idiots who get spooked and call for air support on our own troops, because they forgot the position of their own team. These are the bastards who freeze up when the bullets start to fly and then require someone else to save their pathetic useless asses. I hate these fucking pathetic excuses for soldiers so much. I know many a good man and woman who have died because someone is inept.

The best ones are the ones are the sick bastards who come to find a legal way to kill other people. Unfortunately, no matter how much I detest these fuckers, I have to admit that they make the best soldiers. They never break down, they do not cry. When shit hits the fan, and people are dying all around them, their nerves are steel and they are the ones who save the pansies who are cowering in fear. Unfortunately, these ones typically have little regard for their own life, and they die quickly. A shame, but I think things are better this way. If they do not die in combat, they go back to the world and have to face their demons there. Typically, when they do not die, they turn into serial killers, killing civilians. I assure you, there are few more terrifying things then a rouge, highly trained soldier is let loose on a bunch of mindless civilians. It will be a blood bath, I assure you.

Then there are those like me. The ones who come from a military family, and it is expected of them to serve. I like these the most, because they are the one who last, the ones who survive the hell of war. We come in knowing what to expect, what will be expected. We know our job, we know how to execute that job with the efficiency the military is known for. There is no ulterior motive, no reason to serve, other then it is expected of us. We serve, we do our tours, and sometimes, we make careers out of this life. We know that survival is the ultimate goal, not living. After all, how can you live when death is your constant companion, when your soul has been splintered and broken beyond repair? Sometimes, we go back to the real world and start our own families so that this fucked up, twisted tradition can continue. But for the career soldier, for the soldier, the murderer, the soulless bastards that we know we are, the future is never further then tomorrow. Until the day we are discharged, until the day where we no longer have to wear a uniform, why think of something that doesn't exist? Or worse, why let there be a distraction? It only takes a second to die, a second where you aren't on the top of your game, where your head isn't in reality. So why bother with promises of a better tomorrow? Who amounts you can promise me that I will not die? Who amongst you can look over at the man sitting next to you and tell him that he can go home to his wife? You can't, I can't, so why bother? Take life one day at a time, and maybe, you'll see this through.

However, the motive to join is irrelevant once you step outside of the fence. No matter where you come from though, no matter what your reason to serve is, everyone has to do their duty. Everyone must do their job, or else the entire team will collapse. My job is simple. As First Lieutenant and team leader, it is my job to know what is expected of my team, to take them where we need to go, and to try and not get everyone killed. It is my job to know my team and try and keep everyonish alive. At least, that _was_ my job. Now, I'm being reassigned, I'm back stateside. After three tours over seas, I'm being brought back to train a new team, to bring fresh meat to a war zone. I'm being assigned a completely new support team and staff, plus I get to whip a bunch of whiny bastards into shape. Then I get to take them overseas and watch as they slowly get picked off. One or two will definitely be shot. They might make it though. A lucky few will probably be in an explosion of sorts and go back home with some burns. Maybe a few will die. Probably. Almost definitely actually. At least one will be taken by friendly fire because they panicked. If I go in with a hundred men, I'd say I did a damn good job if I can bring 60 of them back. The new wars are difficult and deadly. Everyday, thirty or more troops die, which is why I'm being pulled back to train more hired guns, to make sure that everyone coming in knows their job so that everyone doesn't die.

It will be my job to try and stall the inevitable, to bring my entire team back. Which has never happened, not in my long 12 year military career, but hey, such is life. I know that if I bring anyone in, that the threat of death will always be there. I can prepare them, I can train them, I can do everything perfectly by the book, but I will still never bring an entire team home. You'll hear people bra about a clean record, about wonder commanders and shit, but take a closer look. How many patrols have they been on? How long have they had their command? I'm sure there's some sergeant out there who's never lost a man, but I've never met one. That's life though, and anymore, the deaths don't really bother me, not since the first one.

The first death under my command was rough, I can admit that. I spent weeks trying to figure out what I could have done differently, what I could have done to save the guy. I was only a Staff Sergeant at the time, had just assumed command of anyone. Sure I'd seen people die before, I'd held a guy's hand as the life literally drained out of him, but I was never the one in charge, never the one who was suppose to keep everyone safe. We were out on a normal eight man patrol and it was Private Marcus Astin, a real nice guy who died. He was only 21 when an enemy sniper shot him through the head. We never even heard the bang of the gun. One minute Marcus was there, laughing and joking with us, and the next, he was on the ground, brain matter and blood alike oozing out of his forehead. The guy never had a chance. We never found the fucker either, at least, not that I know of. perhaps whoever took Marcus's life is dead now. It happened years ago, and its a comforting lie to believe.

To this day, his death still haunts me, even though I know I had not control over that. We were suppose to be doing perimeter check and what was assumed secured area. A stupid mistake, a lack of vigilance, and a life was gone. Simple as that. Marcus left behind a wife and an unborn son, while I still live, I still breathe and fight. I was suppose to protect him, and I didn't. The first death is always the worst. But that's the Army life for you. You can mourn, but it won't do you any good. No number of tears will ever bring back the dead. All that is left to do is pick up your gun and keep going. Marcus was replaced, and after that, I just quit caring so much. Of course I'll die for my troops. Almost have on a number of occasions, but I'm can't let the deaths of the men under me haunt me. If they did, I wouldn't be able to do my job. I've some to terms with what I have to do, what I lead ignorant, hopefuls to. I haven't died yet, but honestly, I think I'd be okay if my hourglass ran out tomorrow. I know I am nothing special, and while my superiors think I'm a great little soldier for all of my successful missions, I know differently. I'm lucky and whatever powers above have simply decided that I'm not suppose to die yet. No time to worry about shit that I can't control though.

* * *

Aubrey sighed. Putting her pen down, Aubrey closed the cover of her brown standard issue journal and put it away. Stretching her legs, Aubrey yawned. In exactly twenty six minutes, she was due to the conference room to meet her new junior officers and NCO's. Then, after scaring the shit out of her staff and ensuring they knew what she expected of them, she'd have to be outside to the parade grounds at no later then 0900 to begin give her "welcome to the Army, now get the fuck going" speech to the new batch of recruits. After that, she had to supervise and make sure that whoever the drill sergeants were didn't kill the recruits or abuse their power.

Standing up, Aubrey gave her uniform a once over, checking to make sure that there were no creases, her brass was shined and in place, her hair was in order, and that her uniform was perfectly ironed. Which it was, as always. But still, this was her first official day as head of the 32nd infantry company, she wanted to make sure that she projected the proper aurora of confidence, perfection, and leadership. Also, for all that could be said of her, no one could ever say that she was a hypocrite. Everything she expected from her troops, every standard, every creed, she maintained herself. Turning back to the small mirror, Aubrey smiled a bit to herself. Satisfied with her appearance, Aubrey grabbed her patrol cap, executed a perfect about face and marched out of her room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Briskly walking through the base, Aubrey only paused to return salutes from subordinates. Taking a deep breath, Aubrey sighed. There was a reason she disliked Texas, and now she remembered that. It was too damn hot. That and the fucking sand. It got everywhere and was a royal pain in her ass. Of course she'd be assigned to Fort fucking Hood. Of all the places she could be assigned, it had to be Fort Hood. Hell, Alaska would be better then this! And yes, she'd been there before in the winter, thank you very much. But such was life. She might be an officer, but she most certainly wasn't in a position of either high command or authority. The only difference between her and some private was that she got shuffled around more. Good leaders were always in short supply and high demand. It really was most unfortunate.

Hiding her annoyance under her usual mask of indifference, Aubrey continued on her way to the parade building. Finally reaching her destination, Aubrey took a quick calming breath. She was a new LT in a group of probably close knit NCO's. Of course they would be respectful, but they would not respect HER. They would only respect the silver bar on her shoulder. That was how it was suppose to be though. Respect would be earned, and Aubrey liked a bit of a challenge. Also, she would never EVER trust a man with someone who just took something to face value. How many inept lieutenants had she met? Rank meant nothing to Aubrey. Respect was what Aubrey cared for. Rank was given, and respect was earned, plain and simple.

Opening the door, Aubrey was internally delighted when she heard an immediate 'Room 'ten-hut!' Surveying the room, Aubrey was also happy to see that there were five people present. Hopefully punctuality would not be an issue then.

"At ease," Aubrey said, in her command voice. Not to be confused with her ordering voice. There's a difference. More on that later though.

As everyone shuffled into their seat, Aubrey took a minute to fully take in the people in the room. Three men and two women sat in front of her. One guy, the Warrant Officer, Aubrey was guess was rather scrawny looking with a hair cut that was most definitely NOT in regulation. That would change soon, but onto the next man. One was a rather large looking British man who looked like a complete prick to Aubrey. His brass was rather flashy, and his hair was spiked. Also not regulation. But hey, She'd give him a chance before she passed final judgement. The other guy in the room was rather nondescript. Short (regulation) brown hair, nothing major stood out to her.

The two women in the room were both concerning to Aubrey. One was grinning like a serial killer and her hair, though pulled back into a bun was still absolutely atrocious. It was also a very bright red color, that Aubrey wasn't sure if it was natural or not. Who's hair is that red anyway? The other woman was rather short, almost comically so and even from where she was standing, Aubrey could see she had a number of piercings. Thank God she had the sense to not have them in though. Also, on her forearms, there were a number of tattoos which was concerning. Not that Aubrey had anything about a couple tattoos. Hell, she had one on her back. This was the fucking Army of Christ's sake 95% of the population had a tattoo or two. Or three... not the point though. What was concerning was that they were exceedingly prominent on her pale skin and Aubrey knew immediately from the sergeant's slightly slouch posture and the smirk that was there but not at the same time, that who ever this was, they had some serious authority issues. Oh well. She'd change that, or she'd be demoted or reassigned. A rather simple thing really. Unfortunately, she was also the master sergeant, the one Aubrey was going to be walking the closest with. Fucking great.

"Master sergeant," Aubrey commanded, "Front and center!"

Gracefully rising from her seat, the sergeant rose and (squaring all her corners) stopped directly 2 paces in front of Aubrey. Raising her arm into a perfect salute, the Master Sergeant gave a perfect report in.

"Ma'am," She said, "Master Sergeant Beca Mitchell reports as ordered."

"Excellent, at ease" Aubrey said. Perhaps her earlier assumption was actually incorrect, "Introduce yourself, you're men, and what you're specialties are."

"Ma'am, my name is Master Sergeant Mitchell. I've been in the service for eight years and I am an infantry sergeant."

The next in live was the shaggy haired man. Standing in front of her, Aubrey knew immediately that this man had never held a gun before in combat. His posture was sloppy, and he was shaking like a leaf under Aubrey's glare. He probably was some academic lump.

"Ma'am Warrant Officer Benjamin Applebaum reports as ordered," Shaggyhead said, "I've been in service for two years and am an technical expert for communications."

"Excellent. Officer Applebaum, tell me, have you ever been out of wire?" Aubrey asked.

"What's that?," Benjamin asked, confused.

"Very well," Aubrey sighed, motioning for the next in line. Fuck, was this how all of her men were going to be?

Ugh, Aubrey did not like officers like him. Should he have to lead anything more then a bunch of techie idiots, he'd get everyone killed. Aubrey made a quick mental note to find some privates to be assigned to his protection detail. While she did not exactly LIKE the more technical warrant officers, they played an important role in missions. After all, if they needed an airstrike, Mr. Techie over there would be the one to get it for them.

"Ma'am, Staff Sergeant Luke Bryant reports as ordered," The large British man said in a heavy British accent, "I served with the British Army for four years before I came here. I currently have been in the American service for two years."

"Very well," Aubrey said, nodding, "Any specialties Sergeant Bryant?"

"I am a very apt drill sergeant and I'm extremely efficient," Bryant said, "I've also served three tours overseas and was in the main war zone for three months."

"Very good," Aubrey said, "Next!"

"Ma'am Staff Sergeant Jesse Swanson reports as ordered," the nondescript man said. "I have six years in the Army and have trained new recruits before."

"Very well," Aubrey said, "Have you ever been overseas?"

"No ma'am," Jesse said.

"Hmm," Aubrey hummed, rather disappointment with her less then experienced staff, "Next!"

"Ma'am Sergeant First Class Chloe Beale reports as ordered," The red head all but chirped, "I have ten years in the Army as a medic. I think medic would classify as my specialty. I also have my certs to train new medical personnel."

"Are you alright Beale?" Aubrey asked, raising her eyebrow at the enthusiastic red head.

"Yes ma'am," she said happily.

"Very well, Sergeant, have you ever been over seas?" Aubrey asked.

"Yes ma'am" Beale said, surprising Aubrey, "I served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Kuwait both times as the field medic."

"Excellent, Aubrey said, not sure if she should be happy, or concerned.

Turning to face her new staff, Aubrey sighed. She really had quite the mixed bag here right now. Fucking lovely. At least they all didn't seem to be best friends. They all seemed like they were thrown together. That was good. So now, she was facing a group of individuals rather then a group. She could work with that.

"At ease everyone," Aubrey said, "My name is First Lieutenant Aubrey Posen. I have served in the Army for 12 years and I have been on six over seas tours, all that were in major war zones. I've been the commanding officer for a number of different platoons and once for a company. Do any of you have any questions yet?"

Sergeant Bryant raised a paw, "Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here then? With a career like that, why are you assigned to this?"

"Sergeant, I am here because we need more troops over seas," Aubrey said succinctly, "This company will be replacing the 28th infantry company, which recently has been absolutely decimated from enemy attacks. Does that answer you're question sergeant?"

"Yes ma'am" Bryant said.

"Excellent," Aubrey nodded, "Now, I will expect nothing but professionalism and excellence from all of you. I will hold all of you to the same standards that I hold myself to, and I will not tolerate insubordination. Now, before you think that because I am an officer, my expectations will be ridiculous, or that I do not know of the troubles of the enlisted, I also want you to know I worked my way from the bottom up here. I will never send any of you on a mission that I would not take myself, and I will always be open to suggestions from you. I want us all to be a team and get as many of these men back home. Any more questions?"

Master Sergeant Mitchell raised a paw, "Ma'am, do you know anything about what our deployment will be?"

"At the moment, no," Aubrey said, "I'm here, as Colonel Kendrick said, 'to supervise, to lead, and to get the new recruits into shape' My best guess would be either Iraq or Pakistan. We may be stationed in Egypt, or maybe somewhere else. Just know, we're going to replace an infantry company that got the shit kicked out of them, so base a guess off of that."

"Alright, sounds good LT," Mitchell smirked, "So what's our OotD?"

"As I'm sure you know, we have been tasked with training a bunch of raw recruits and getting them ready to be shot at. I will be addressing them first, however, I want to begin training ASAP. Bryant and Swanson, I'm entrusting you to get them ready. You will for all intents and purposes, be their drill sergeants," Aubrey said, "Mitchell, I want you to do basic over sight, make sure no one dies. Beale, you are the current on duty medic, so you're with Mitchell. Applebaum, I want you to go to the comm room and make sure you know every single button, ever wire in all of the technology we will be using. Any questions?"

"Ma'am?" Benjamin asked, raising a paw.

"Yes officer?" Aubrey asked.

"Exactly what am I suppose to be doing? I get the whole learn you're technology and all, but I've trained extensively with all the equipment thus far. I can completely disassemble and reassemble our radios, GPS, or most any other technology."

"Really?" Aubrey asked, skeptical.

"Yes ma'am" he said, pride evident.

"Very well, Applebaum, how did you do with basic?" Aubrey asked.

"I barely passed," He said, deflating.

"Very well, then I want you training with the new recruits" Aubrey said. Ho;ding her hand up, she effectively stopped whatever protest he had, "We will be going into a war zone officer. I do not want my comm guy to be shot and killed because he couldn't keep up. Applebaum, you're going out of the wire on this deployment, so I suggest you're at the top of your game before we leave. Remember, sweat more now, bleed less later. Alright?"

"Yes, ma'am" He said.

"Excellent," Aubrey smiled, "I look forward to a good run with you ladies and gentlemen. That is all."

Turning around, Beca called the room to attention while Aubrey left. Behind her, her new staff fell in behind her and followed her out of the room.

* * *

Glaring, Aubrey stood in front what would soon be her new company. Slowly walking back and forth, Aubrey watched as some men fidgeted and glanced about nervously. Did she scare them? Probably, but that was the point. New recruits irked Aubrey to no end. They were either too rude, or too jumpy. All of them were little shits. None of them knew shit, but most of them thought they knew everything. Sharply stopping, Aubrey executed a perfect right face and now stood directly in front of her men. Facing the mass of people before her, Aubrey began her speech.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," Aubrey said, projecting her voice across the entire parade ground, "My name is First Lieutenant Aubrey Posen. I will be your Commanding Officer for the next four year. I can be you're friend, but you know what? I choose not to. In the first tour we go through, in the first six months of our deployment, at least ten of you will be dead. Everyone, you have permission to look around right now. I want you to look at the man or woman next to you. See them? In a year, that might be the person we send home in a body bag. It very well might be you who we send back. Eyes now. I am going to do my damnest to get most of you back home. I will not promise to get you all home because I know I can't. But I can at least try and prepare you, try and give you a better shot at getting back. Everything you think you know about the Army, forget it. You will do things my way. You all have a copy of the drill manual. That is going to be your new best friend. Learn it, live it, love it."

Pausing, Aubrey took a second to survey the faces before her. Most seemed a bit awestruck, some seemed bored, and others looked like they'd heard shit like this before and couldn't wait to get going. Perfect.

"Now, I expect you all to use you're chain of command." Aubrey said loudly, "Just because I am your CO, does not mean I care about all of your problems. I care about my men, but I do not have the time to deal with all of your little problems. For you're little shit, for your everyday problems, go to either Staff Sergeant Bryant or Staff sergeant Swanson. Those two are you're new drill commanders. Your soul now belongs to them, and I expect you to treat them as such. Now, if your problem is something major, sexual harassment, abuse from either of your sergeants, or anything else of that nature, you may come directly to me. However, I don't want to hear about you not liking morning PT or that you're uniform doesn't fit right. Talk to you're staff sergeants about that. Now, if you have a medical problem, if you need medical attention, you may go either to the base doctor, or to Sergeant First Class Beale over here. She will be your field medic and in charge of making sure all of you are healthy. Finally, this is Master Sergeant Mitchell. She is my Executive Officer, and the one you'll be seeing the most of. Her job is to make sure my orders are carried out. That's all you need to know for now, so I'm turning you all over to Staff Sergeant Bryant now."

"Ello mates!" Bryant said, in a overly cheery voice, "My name is Staff sergeant Bryant. I'm going to be your drill sergeant for the next twelve weeks. By the end of these lovely twelve weeks, all of you are going to hate me, all of you are going to ask yourself why you enlisted, and all of you are going to be Privates. AM I CLEAR?"

"YES SERGEANT!" Came the immediate reply.

"GOOD!" Bryant roared, "NOW GET YOUR ASSES MOVING! DOUBLE TIME HARCH! RUN YOU STUPID SHITS! LET'S GO!"

As Sergeant Bryant and Sergent Swanson lead the group off the parade ground, Aubrey sighed. She knew back in her office there already was a pile of paperwork waiting for her. That was going to suck, hard. On top of that, she had to make sure that no one died in basic. The Army didn't look very kindly on sergeants killing new recruits before they got sent to a war zone. As if the end result was even that different. What's the big difference between a dead body in Kuwait or in the US? Only the amount of paperwork Aubrey had to fill out.

Walking back to her office, Aubrey could hear Bryant and Swanson yelling in the distance. Glancing over her shoulder, Aubrey smirked. Already Bryant and Swanson had the recruits doing push ups. That was good. Mitchell was watching from the tower, and it looked like Beale was keeping a close eye on everything that was going on. Based on her stance, it looked like Sergent Beale was assessing the situation and making sure that no one was anout to keel over. Huh. Maybe no one would die today.

With a shrug, Aubrey turned around and began walking back to her office. Right now, she had to trust in her sergeants and trust her staff to make sure no one was dying. Shit like that wasn't her concern. At least, not yet.

* * *

**So how was that mortals? I almost split this, but then I though, eh. I can just do a long chapter. So, yeah, I really like this plot, and I may or may not be sort of neglecting my other work. I promise I'm not going to stop, but right now, I'm really excited about this :) I just got back from talking to my recruiters and all, so yerp. **

**Tell me what you think though. Is this a piece of shit? I don't know, you tell me :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Greetings Mortals! I'm back so obviously you're life is better now. Everyone cheer for me. WHERE ARE MY TRUMPETS?  
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**Sorry for the long time in between updates. With school, work, and other writing, this has been pushed to the back burner. You can all thank cxcxcx for motivating me to write this though!**

**As a side note, this is NOT a romance. At all. This is me focusing on the military life more then anything. There might be a side pairing, but this isn't about finding love on a battle field. Shit, did I just lose reads? Oh well. I'm writing this for me, so no one can read this, and I'll be fine. Back to point, I'm following military rules and all, so for the guest who asked if this was Mitchsen, no, its not. If Aubrey were to pursue a romantic relationship with Beca in this, either Aubrey or Beca would have to drop out of the military, or she would risk a dishonorable discharge and demotion. Not because it's a same sex thing though, but because enlisted personnel and officers cannot be engaged in any form of romantic relationship. Anyways, thanks for all the support guys, and I love you all :)  
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**I own nothing.**

* * *

Aubrey sighed. It was only three weeks into training, and already, she remembered why she hated basic training. As if she needed a reminder though. So far, two recruits had been sent to the base hospital, the goon squad was filled every night, and the piles of paperwork never seemed to end. On top of that, her staff was having issues working together, her comm guy was so physically unfit it was depressing, and she had been so busy lately she hadn't even been able to go to the range and practice. But hey, that was the Army life for you. You took your shit, smiled, and then kept going. No ifs, ands, or buts here! Still didn't make it suck any less though.

Letting her head rest against her desk, Aubrey took a second to just collect herself, to give herself a minute to relax. This was a technique Aubrey learned long ago and it had served her very well over the years. There was a lot of work that came with being in the Army, and if you let it overwhelm you, if you let everything get to you, you're sunk. Sometimes, it was better to look at the details and only one thing at a time rather then the whole picture. Right now, Aubrey knew that if she looked at the whole picture right now, it would just completely overwhelm her. Take the foot high stack of paper work she had get done by tomorrow in front of her right now. That alone was a crazy amount of work. Add into the fact that she'd have to be up at 0530 tomorrow and do it all again, if not more, she'd drive herself crazy.

But if she took it one file at a time, one day at a time, she'd be alright. She'd be able to compartmentalize everything, remain efficient and keep going. Hell, she was already twelve years in. She could stick it out for another eight. Two more cycles and that would be it. She could retire at thirty-eight and go live a quieter more peaceful life.

Lifting her head up, Aubrey sighed. Shaking her head just a little bit, Aubrey dived back into the pile of papers before her, slowly but surely diminishing the pile in front of her until there was nothing left. Finally, sometime around 0030 Aubrey signed off the last page and got up. Stretching, Aubrey yawned. Tomorrow was going to suck, but what was new? She had to hold a staff meeting soon, but she'd like to put that off for as long as possible. Contrary to popular belief, simply because she was classified as Army Brass, didn't mean she was a complete dick. She was under orders just as much as them, and while reaming out basics could be fun, she did need to have at least a semi decent relationship with her staff.

Running a hand through her hair, Aubrey shambled out of her office and into her bedroom. Flopping down on to the bed, Aubrey closed her eyes, not even bothering to pull the blankets out. However, this didn't really matter, as within minutes, she was fast asleep.

* * *

"LET'S GO!" Luke roared, "MY GRANDMOTHER CAN RUN FASTER THEN YOU LOUSY FUCKING BASICS! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? WHY DO I NOT HEAR AND JODIES? MOTIVATE EACH OTHER YOU WHINY BASTARDS!"

Sitting in the observatory deck, Aubrey sighed. Perhaps it was because she had to oversee everything, but to her, this batch of recruits were the worst she'd ever seen. They all kept to themselves, they all dogged the runs, and they were all just so fucking stupid. Was it that hard to make a bed? Really? Its really quite simple. She'd been making her bed with hospital corners since. God, since she got her own bed. And seriously? Why the hell did no one shine their boots? Could someone give her a good reason as to why NO ONE'S boots were ever shined? I mean, that was just caring about your personal appearance. Plus, everyone had atrocious uniforms, and really, she could go on and on, but I think you got the point.

With a sigh, Aubrey turned away from the pathetic scene before her. Pulling her hand held radio out, Aubrey radioed for Chief Mitchell to meet her up in the observation deck. While she waited for Mitchell to get here, she once more turned back to the parade ground. The recruits were no longer running, but instead doing push ups, or at least, they were suppose to. From what she could see, no one was even doing a single decent push up. This had to stop. This was the fucking Army for Christ's sake. Recruits should be able to do a fucking push up.

"Sergeant Bryant!" Aubrey barked into her radio, "Get these recruits doing push ups right. I don't care if your there until 0200. Make them do this right , or don't let them go to bed. Relay this to Sergeant Swanson also. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am" Came Bryant's immediate reply.

Looking back out, Aubrey watched as Sergeant Bryant briskly walked over to sergeant Swanson and then the two of them began to yell once more. Sergeant Swanson even went so far as to drop down next to some of the struggling recruits and execute a few perfect push ups next to them. Sergeant Bryant circled the group, yelling at everyone ad encouraging (ordering really) them to try harder and to work together. Satisfied that her sergeants had this covered, Aubrey turned back to the task at hand. At the knock on her door, Aubrey called in for the person to enter. Stepping in sharply and squaring all of her corners, Beca brought her hand up into a perfect salute and reported.

"Ma'am," Chief Mitchell said, sounding off, "Chief Master Sergeant Mitchell reports as ordered!"

"At ease," Aubrey said, "Chief, I have a number of important orders of business to go over, however, before we do so, are there any reports you have for me?"

"Yes ma'am," Beca said, "The medic crew is currently waiting on a supply delivery that is now a week overdue. We're low on meds, plasters, and most basic first aid supplies. Also, the recruits are complaining about the barracks. Sergeants Bryant and Swanson have made it understood that they will sleep in the barracks and that's final, however, it should be noted that the recruits are highly dissatisfied right now. That is all for now ma'am."

"Lovely," Aubrey sighed, "Wasn't the barracks just refurbished though?"

"Yes, it was," Beca said, "It was repainted last year and just this year new mattresses and bunks were installed."

"I thought so," Aubrey growled, "Tell the sergeants to buckle down on these recruits. They're lazy whiny bastards, and I'm tired of it. I want these recruits to be perfect when Colonel Kendrick comes. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am" Beca said snapping to attention and then going back to at ease.

"Excellent, no on to the next orders of business," Aubrey said, "Sergeant tell me, have you noticed any problems with the staff as of late?"

"No ma'am" Beca said, "If I may ask, why do you ask this?"

"Because I have," Aubrey said flatly, "I am dissatisfied with your lack of ability to work together. You do not communicate well, there is no sense of camaraderie, and you all simply do not work together. Remember, you are a team Master Sergeant. I want you all to be on the same wavelength at all times. Tell me Sergeant, how many children does Sergeant Bryant have?"

"Pardon me?" Beca asked, obviously very confused.

"I asked how many children Sergeant Bryant had." Aubrey said patiently, "Do you know?"

"No ma'am," Beca said simply.

"And why not?" Aubrey asked, arching an eyebrow, "You and sergeant Bryant are brothers in arms. Tell me, do you have any friends outside of the military Sergeant Mitchell?"

"Yes ma'am, seven ma'am" Beca answered dutifully.

"And tell me, do you know all about their families, their personal favorites, little facts, etc?" Aubrey asked.

"Yes ma'am," Beca said, "however, grew up with all of them and-"

"I do not care for your excuses," Aubrey barked, "You need to trust Sergeant Bryant and the rest of this staff with your life. You need to be friends, brothers, one family. It is appalling that none of you have attempted to even initiate any form of friendship! Chief Mitchell, you should know this considering how long you have been in the Army. Tonight I will be holding a meeting at 1900 and I expect everyone to be there. We will become a team Master Sergeant. Not only is that imperative for our success but for our survival once we get over seas. By the end of tonight I want everyone to be a team of team members, not individuals. Am I understood?!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Beca said, sounding off.

"Excellent," Aubrey said, Relay this message to everyone, and some one is not in my office at 1900, it will be your fault. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" Came Beca's quick reply.

"Outstanding. Dismissed!" Aubrey barked.

Raising her hand, Beca saluted her understanding. Returning the salute, Aubrey Watched as Beca did an about face and marched out of the observation deck, no doubt going to carry out Aubrey's most recent orders. Nodding, Aubrey turned her attention back to the parade grounds where both sergeants were still struggling to get the recruits to do push ups. Really, it was twenty measly push ups? Why was this so difficult for these little bastards? It shouldn't be, that's for damn sure!

With a sigh, Aubrey walked to the exit and made her way to the parade grounds. Judging by the sergeant's red faces and rather enthusiastic arm waving, they could use a hand. Marching up, Aubrey noted with some satisfaction Sergeant Swanson noticed her presence almost immediately and called the area to attention. Saluting for the company, Sergeant Swanson awaited at attention for Aubrey's inspection. Returning the salute but giving no orders, Aubrey allowed both sergeants to silently fall into step behind her. Slowly walking up and down, Aubrey sneered. This was the group she had to make into a company of privates? Very well. Time to bring the heat.

"So, does anyone wish to hazard a guess as to why I am here?" Aubrey asked, finally coming at rest in the center of the company, "Anyone? because I have quite a few more pressing matters right now then a bunch OF UNFIT LAZY RECRUITS! WHAT IS THIS? WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE TO BE HERE RECRUITS? SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS!"

Eyes flashing, Aubrey could feel her blood boiling at these lazy recruits. From her vantage point, she could see some men fidgeting and others looking around. There were three things they could do at attention, and moving was NOT one of them.

"YOU!" Aubrey barked, pointing to one of the fidgeters, "What are the three things you can do at attention?"

"Ma'am, the three things you can do at attention are as follows," the poor guy shouted, looking quite ready to just keel over beneath Aubrey's angry glare, "Breathe, blink, and swallow!"

"Right, SO tell me, why were you moving?" Aubrey growled, "Why are you STILL moving? Tell me, why are ANY of you moving? Everyone, drop and give me twenty. NOW!"

When everyone dropped but failed to successfully do a satisfactory push up, Aubrey almost went berserk. Taking a few calming breaths, she counted to ten before she began yelling again.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS FUCKING MESS?" Aubrey roared, "YOU ARE A TEAM! NOW START ACTING LIKE ONE! I WANT YOU TO DO THESE PUSH UPS AS A TEAM AND WITH GOOD FORM? DO YOU WANT TO FUCKING GET INTO THE ARMY? THEN START DOING FUCKING PUSH UP! I BET YOU ALL I COULD FUCKING DO BETTER PUSH UPS WITH ONE ARM BEHIND MY BACK! NONE OF THESE COUNT RECRUITS UNTIL YOU DO THEM RIGHT! WE CAN STAY HERE ALL NIGHT IF WE HAVE TO! NOW GIVE ME TWENTY GOOD PUSH UPS!"

Slightly red in the face from yelling so much, Aubrey glared at the still moving recruits, none getting a single push up right. Walking by a group, she heard mutterings from in the ranks and straining, she heard some recruits say something she did NOT like. At her wits end, Aubrey growled. This was going to fucking stop, and it was going to stop NOW.

"EVERYONE STOP!" Aubrey roared. Pointing at the offenders, she snarled, "YOU! Stand up boy! Why don't you tell me that to my face!"

Standing up, the young man squared his shoulders and looked Aubrey dead in the eye. Damn, this kid was ballsy. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage and sounded off.

"Ma'am, I said that you're full of shit!" He yelled.

"Is that so?" Aubrey said, her voice deadly calm, "Pray, tell me what's your name recruit?"

"Yes ma'am," The boy smirked, "Ma'am my name is Bumper Allen."

"So, Bumper," Aubrey spat, "Tell me, why do you think I am full of shit?"

"Because there's no way you could do twenty push ups with one arm," The guys said as though the answer should be obvious, "I mean, on top of that you're an officer. You didn't do shit like this. _Ma'am_."

"Alright, fair enough," Aubrey said, now circling the boy, taking in his slouched posture and lack of respect. Probably one of the job men, "So tel me, what if I can do twenty perfect one armed push ups?"

"But you can't!" Bumper laughed.

"Just saying I could. What would you do should I be able to prove you wrong?" Aubrey asked.

"I dunno," Bumper shrugged, "Whatever I guess. Thing is you can't butter bar!"

"Excuse me?" Aubrey asked, wheeling around, "What did you just call me?"

"Erm, butter bar?" Cuz your a First LT, ya know..." The guy shrugged, not even realizing how much shit he was getting himself into.

"Very well," Aubrey sighed, feeling her patience running thin, "Let's have a little bet here then. If I can do twenty perfect one armed push ups, then you clean the latrines everyday until you leave basic training. If I can't then _I'll_ clean the latrines everyday until then. So what do you say Bumper? Up for a little bet? Surely you cannot lose, right?"

For a second, Aubrey could see indecision flicker in the boy's eyes, smirking, Aubrey crossed her arms and looked the kid dead in the eye. The fool didn't know what the hell he was getting into. However, soon, he matched Aubrey's smirk and held out a hand.

"Its a bet," He smirked.

"Very well," Aubrey said, taking his hand, "Do you want to count?"

"Duh!" Bumper said.

"Very well, Recruit Allen, fall out and count," Aubrey smirked.

Walking into the front of the company, Aubrey did a quick stretch and then dropped to the ground. Pulling one arm up, she began executing her twenty perfect push ups. Arm breaking 90 degrees and head up, Aubrey noted with some satisfaction as she hit the ten mark, the boy's voice was wavering. By the time she was at fifteen. the guy sounded really worried, and when she hit twenty, she was pretty sure the guy was almost crying. To drive a point home, Aubrey did five more push up and then stood up. Cracking her neck and staring the now quaking boy dead in the eye, she spoke, quietly, but in a voice that commanded everyone's attention.

"Allen, I would not suggest ever challenging me again. I started right where you were, as an enlisted recruit. I am no fat lazy butter bar. I earned my rank with sweat. blood and tears, the Army way. I've served six tours overseas in some of the most hostile war zones," Aubrey said, deadly calm, "I've seen men die right in from of me. I've killed quite a few too. Taking on some winy recruit is nothing for me. Now, you will fall back into the flight, and you will now uphold our bet. Should I hear anything more about you causing trouble though, I will personally make your life a iving hell. You think sergeants Bryant and Swanson are hard on you? I'm ten times worse then them on a bad day. Do you understand me Allen?"

"Yes Ma'am!" The boy said, looking quite ready to shit his pants.

"Good, now get out of my sight!" Aubrey snarled.

Hurrying back, the man stumbled back into his place, standing stiffly at attention. Stalking back and forth in from of the first element, Aubrey could SEE the men physically quaking under her glare. Good. She wasn't the first Lieutenant for no reason. All of these littler bastards would come to respect and fear her. Stopping once more in the middle, Aubrey raised her voice just enough so that it would carry across the parade ground.

"Let this serve as a lesson to all of you. Do not challenge me, Do not challenge your staff. Only follow orders. If you dare to challenge your staff, be prepared to face the consequences. You WILL lose," Aubrey said, "I AM going to have a company of Privates at the end of Basic Training, and I WILL NOT accept insubordination. You all wanted to be in the Army, no be in the Army. I am tired of looking out and seeing a bunch of wimpy little children dogging runs and failing at push ups. Should I have to come out here again, _I_ will lead PT, and I guarantee you that none of you will like it. Now, fo your sake, I really hope I do not receive a bad report again. Am I understood?"

"YES MA'AM!" Came the deafening reply.

"Good!" Aubrey said.

Saluting Sergeant Bryant, she turned the company over to him and walked to her office. Now that she got THAT out of the way, perhaps she could get some paperwork done. Oh, and she also had to get herself ready for tonight's staff meeting. Greeeeaaaaat. That was going to be fun. Not. With a sigh, Aubrey entered her office. Today fucking sucked.

* * *

Standing in front of her staff, Aubrey had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Originally she had been afraid that they would be aclose knit group of NCO's and would balk under the new leadership, but instead, she now had a completely different problem. None of her NCO's had every worked together before, everyone was trying to be the leader, and while they all followed her commands, they didn't gell, they didn't work. And frankly, it was pissing her off. She needed a team, and by God, she was going to get one.

Staring at the five people before her, Aubrey was disgusted. Her two sergeants should be best friends right now, but instead, they were sitting across the room, not even looking at each other. They should be at ease, talking, chilling and just enjoying each other's company, but instead all she got was stilted, awkward conversation. The only one who even seemed remotely happy right now was Chloe, but she was always freakishly happy, so that didn't count. beca should be an approachable person, the mouth piece of her men so to speak, bu instead, she was projecting a hostile vibe and looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Fucking hell, this was completely unacceptable!

Wheeling around, Aubrey now commanded the complete undivided attention of everyone in the room.

"People, can anyone tel me why we are here?" Aubrey asked. Seeing the raised paws, she amended her statement, "No need to raise a paw, this is an informal meeting. Just talk guys. I need us to just talk, alright?"

"Yes Ma'am," Came the dutiful reply.

With a sigh, Aubrey rubbed her temples and willed heself to keep it together.

"Alrght guys, I need us to be a team. All of you are being individuals right now, and no one is a team. Can anyone tell me why?" Aubrey asked.

"No excuse ma'am" Luke said, "We'll work on it."

"Damn right you will!" Aubrey said, "And NO ONE is leaving until your all friends, are a team. Got it?"

"Yes Ma'am," once again came the dutiful reply.

"And no more with the yes ma'am no ma'am" Aubrey sighed, "When we're in an informal setting you may call me Aubrey, okay?"

"KK's Bree!: Chloe chirped, "So now that that's out of the way, what are we doing?"

"We're going to talk and hopefully at least leave here with a slightly better understanding of each other, alright?"

"So, its like a friendship circle?" Beca smirked, "Lovely."

"Alright Beca," Aubrey said, turning her gaze on to the younger girl, "Why don't you go first? Name, age, and why you joined please."

"Seriously?" Beca scoffed.

"Dixie chick serious," Aubrey said as seriously as she could.

With an overly exaggerated sigh, Beca got up and walked slowly up to the front of the room. Coming to a halt in the middle and standing at a loose at rest position, Beca gave her introduction.

"Alright, so My name Is Beca Mitchell. Not Rebecca, just Beca. I am twenty-six years old, and I joined because I wanted to try and be of service to my country," Arching an eyebrow at Aubrey she smirked, "All good?"

"Almost," Aubrey said, "Once you tell me the real reason your joined, you may sit down."

"Excuse me?" Beca scoffed, "Why wouldn't that be my real reason-"

"Because I know when people are lying, and you Beca are lying," Aubrey said simply, "Now try and be truthful."

For a second, Beca glared at Aubrey. Meeting the angry gaze, Aubrey simply coolly stared back and arched her eyebrow as if to say she was waiting. With a huff, Beca unclasped her hands and growled her answer out.

"I joined because some Tali bombed a building my Mom was in and killed her," Beca snapped, "So basically I joined to try and find some sort of closure for all that. Better LT?"

"Much," Aubrey said evenly, "You may take your seat now. Sergeant Bryant, you're up now. Same introduction if you please."

"Alright mates!" Luke said, bounding up, "So I am Luke Bryant. I am twenty-five years old and I'm in because I just genuinely enjoy the military life. Joined when I was nineteen because I loved my country and then realized that America had a better service program. So when my English contract ran out, I immigrated here and enlisted the day I could."

"Excellent," Aubrey nodded, "Swanson, your up now."

"Alright guys, hey, I'm Jesse Swanson," Jesse said, happily, "I'm Twenty four years old and I'm in because... actually, i don't even know. I graduated high school with no idea what the hell I was going to do in life, and I dunno. I heard Army was a good way to go, and I just joined. Haven't regretted my decision yet, and I'm looking to put my twenty in."

"Lovely," Aubrey said, "Applebaum, let's hear it."

"Hey guys," Benji said nervously, "I'm Benjamin Applebaum, but I like to go by Benji. I am twenty three years old, and I'm in because I was specifically contracted by the Army. Originally I was studying at MIT, but Army came to me and offered me a nice contract, so here I am. I majored in computer sciences, so I'm in the tech department, obviously."

"Very well," Aubrey smiled, "Alright, Beale, we're finally to you. Go ahead."

Bounding up, Chloe was practically vibrating with excitement. Smiling broadly, Chloe began chattering away.

"Well, hi guys!" Chloe said happily, "So I'm Chloe Beale. I am Twenty six years old, and god, I'm in for a couple of reasons. My grammpy was in the Army, and well, he was the one who gave m the idea to join. Plus, I really love helping others, so I wanted to do something where I'd be able to do that. but I also wanted to be a doctor like my parents, but you know, med schools a bit pricey, but since the Army said they'd pay, I took the contract and now, here I am! I love the rush I get from saving lives on the battlefield, so I've just never quit!"

"That's awesome Chloe," Aubrey smiled. getting up, she then walked to the front of the room, "Alright, so as you all know, my name is First Lieutenant Aubrey Posen. I am thirty years old, and I am in the Army because everyone in the Posen family has joined the military. Yeah, I'm one of those. I'm going to put my twenty in, god willing and then I will retire."

Finished, Aubrey just stood up in the front of the room. Everyone was still sitting away from each other awkwardly, and no one was talking. Fucking lovely. She had a shit ton more work to do.l

"Alright, so until you can all work together, we will be doing his every night, and we'll just keep delving deeper," Aubrey finally said, "We WILL become a team whether you like me, whether you like the person next to you, whether you even like you or not. This WILL happen, and until then, I will make life much more uncomfortable. Should I have to be the common enemy, I will, but I REALLY don't think you want me to do that. Alright ladies and gentlemen, that is all. I will see you same time, same place tomorrow."

Without waiting for and sort of confirmation, Aubrey executed a perfect about face and walked out the door, leaving a slightly confused staff behind her.

**So how was that? Like I said, super sorry about the long time for updates, but I've been rather busy. So the sleepy meds are kicking in now, so pardon me, but I'm just going to try and keep this quick :)**

**Rizzlesmylies: Why yes, yes I am babe. And I don't know. You on your knees begging sounds pretty hot ;) xX**

**Waatp: Awesome! Glad you like it, and I hope the wait was worth it :)**

**Guest: Nope. I'm sorry :(**

**Nicolicious1: Why thank ya mate. And Air Force! I'm an American! So horah and all that shit.**

**cxcxcx386: You know, your really awesome. I'm glad you like this, and I think of you understood HG you'd like revenge more, but meh... The fact I have a super fan like you is pretty awesome :) And do I? Eh... never noticed... Guess you're right though :) As for the reality of war, I'm goign to write it as real as possible, so get your bulletproof vest ready :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Greetings mortals and all that shit. So erm, yeah, I just wanna get to this, so can I skip all the rambling for once? Yes, great. I put the Army Creed of the NCO below, because, man,its important, and TELL me you don't feel like you should be doing something more after reading it! Alright, das it, let's move out!**

**I'm sorry this has taken so long to get out, but I've been busy, and yeah. Some people have this cool thing called free time, where they have time to do shit. I don't, I've actually written this inbetween classes, and during class. So deal with it.**

**I own nothing motherfuckeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrssssss!**

* * *

Creed of the NCO

No one is more professional than I. I am a noncommissioned officer, a leader of Soldiers. As a noncommissioned officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as "The Backbone of the Army". I am proud of the Corps of noncommissioned officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the military service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.

Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind—accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers. I will strive to remain technically and tactically proficient. I am aware of my role as a noncommissioned officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All Soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my Soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my Soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.

Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my Soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers, and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, noncommissioned officers, leaders!

* * *

Aubrey sighed tiredly, wiping the sleep from her eyes. The past week had shown very little improvement in ANY aspect of her life thus far. The recruits were still whiny, though they stopped when ever she came close, she still had a mountain of paper work every night, and her staff still were a fucking group of individuals rather then a team. Thus far, even with all of her nightly and mandatory 'bonding sessions' and with trying to be a bitch to AT LEAST get them to unite together under a common enemy, her staff refused to try and work with each other, refused to be a fucking team. They were all trying to impress her, all trying to advance, but NO ONE was focusing on the actual mission. Of all the fucking problems she thought she'd have, having a bunch of NCO's who couldn't work together was NEVER something she thought was even a possibility.

Rubbing her temples, Aubrey could feel her anger rising. What in the holy hell was her staff's fucking problem? They were NCO's for god's sake! The best that the Army had to offer. She remember back to her NCO days, where she prided herself on her four stripes, when her standard was excellence. Still was, but she was so proud back then to be part of that corp of elite warriors. now, she was more of a desk worker, but shit. Back in her NCO days, she was at the top of her game. Was always ten minutes early, and asked all the necessary questions. She had perfect posture, and she did her damnest to watch out for her men.

Not that she didn't do that now of course! Hell no. She spent HOURS everyday, fighting with Majors and Colonels, trying to get her men better supplies, training, etc. She did her best to look out for her men, just on a different level of planning. She wasn't on the tactical level anymore, rather, she was on the operational level. Which was fine, great actually. it just meant that her job was now different then what it use to be. Things would go back down more to tactical when they went over seas, but for now, she was on ops, and that meant she had to do things differently. She wasn't asking for permission anymore, she was granting it. She wasn't getting up for the meeting, rather, she was the one planning and holding the meeting. Such was life of course, and that was fine with her. She would do anything to keep her men fed and safe, and if that meant she had to be in a fucking office all the time, so be it.

Except her staff didn't seem to get that.

They seemed to believe the lies that officers just sat in the lounge, watched and laughed in the lounge as the NCO's sweated it out, and just reaped all of the rewards. True now she was at a desk more often, but she was still working hard, she just wasn't out there pounding dirt, rather, she was making sure that her men were well equipped and protected. She went up against those pompous assholes in logistics and had shouting matches with over eager colonels trying to make general. Sure she wasn't out there doing a thousand and one push ups, but she was using a different kind of muscle, doing something just as important! It really did irk her when people thought that just because she was an officer, she didn't do anything.

She fucking did a hell of a lot more then they'd ever know, and they didn't seem to EVER fucking get that. But of course, she didn't do this job for the praise, hell, you do NOT go Army if you want praise. She did it for the satisfaction of a job well done and because this was her life. But would it KILL them to just fucking listen to her without rolling their eyes of trash talking her later? I mean honestly, it was absolutely ridiculous. They KNEW she was an NCO before, her staff KNEW she'd worked her way up to this position the hard way, with blood, sweat, and tears the Army way, and yet they still though she was some fat ass butter bar. Well.. Maybe not the fat part, because she definitely wasn't fat, but that wasn't the point.

With a sigh, Aubrey stood up and walked out of her office and towards the meeting building. It was already 1900, and she had a meeting in thirty with her staff. Again. Really, it was kind of getting depressing. not only was she trying to teach a bunch of NCO's how to do their job, she also lost time when she could be doing the shit ton of paper work she had and subsequently, she lost precious hours of sleep too. And considering she usually was lucky if she could even get six hours a night, she felt every single half hour, hour, and even minute she lost. All because her stupid staff couldn't get it together.

God, what the hell fucking happened to no one is more professional then I and accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers? For serious, Aubrey didn't think she'd EVER seen more incompetent NCO's in her LIFE. Its was absolutely ridiculous. There was no way her staff could keep her men safe if they didn't get it together soon. Screw the fact she was a CO now, she still believed that the Creed was important! Her men came first. Always. NO WAY she'd let harm come to them if she could help it. Sure, she knew like half of them were going to die soon, but she was going to get every single last one of them to their assignment first.

Finally reaching the meeting building, Aubrey sighed as she flipped on the lights. God, she was so tired of this right now. To be perfectly honest, she really would MUCH rather be on patrol getting shot at then having to deal with this. At least then, she could shoot back and at least fight the problem! But here, her problem was her own team, the people who were suppose to be fighting with her! As much as she sometimes wished she could, she knew that shooting her entire staff would NOT go over well. Though, she was going to be perfectly honest. The thought had DEFINITELY crossed her mind a few times.

Aubrey sighed. No time for shit like that, not now at least. The sooner she could just get this together, the sooner she could get back to her office, the sooner she could get back to work, and then the sooner she could go to sleep.

* * *

Beca grunted angrily as she flung another dart at the board. With a resounding thunk, it hit the dead center of the target, however, this brought the angry brunette little satisfaction, as she went and grabbed the next dart. Snatching the dart up, she repeated the same process, and soon, the second dart joined the one she had just thrown, only a millimeter away.

"Stupid fucking meetings," Beca muttered, grabbing a third dart, "Fucking stupid! Waste of my God damn time."

Flinging the next dart away in disgust, Beca huffed in frustration as this one completely missed it mark, and instead soared into the wood by the board. With a thud, it stood apart from her other perfect throws. Stalking over, Beca snatched the darts, roughly yanking each dart out. In exactly twenty minutes, she'd have to leave and go to the meeting house so that she, the rest of the NCO's, and fucking LT Posen could have a little chat. Fucking stupid if you asked her! Her and the rest of the staff worked FINE together! Sure they weren't best friends, but hey! They were professional. They worked together. Mostly. Alright, so MAYBE they weren't the best at communication, but still, these fucking meetings were a waste of her time. She didn't want to have a fucking pow wow wither everyone at the end of the day! She fucking saw enough of them DURING the day! Once she was off duty, she didn't want to fucking have to go BACK and deal with them even more!

With a huff, Beca put the darts back and went over to the bar. Plopping down into a stool, she smirked to herself as she noted three guys subtly check her out. HA! Even in her fatigues, she could still look fucking hot. Sure she was gay and all, but hey. Be honest. What girl doesn't like confirmation that she could totally pull off a look?

Ordering a bottle of beer, Beca took a long pull, enjoying the bitter flavor. Putting the bottle down, Beca sighed. As much as she REALLY wanted something stronger right now, she knew she couldn't. There was a strict 2 bottle limit for AD personnel, and despite how badly she wanted to be drunk right now, she knew she couldn't. if an emergency came up, or if she suddenly got called back to base, it was imperative that she was clear minded and sober... But seriously, for those stupid meetings, what Beca wouldn't give to be fucking black out drunk. GOD, she hated talking with that bitch.

Finishing her beer, Beca sigh, and toyed with the rim of her bottle. She REALLY didn't want to go tonight. But that was life, wasn't it? Fucking officer's butting their damn heads where they didn't belong. However, as a Master Sergeant, it was her job to just take whatever shit trickled down to her and do so with a fucking smile. Screw what she thought, she didn't really have a choice right now. Slapping a ten down onto the bar, Beca got up and cracked her neck. Stretching a bit, Beca sighed. Time to go to another fucking bonding meeting. God, that sounded so queerballs. but, that was what they were called, and that was what she'd call them too. Walking to the exit, Beca took one last look around the enlisted personnel bar before she finally walked out the door. Maybe she'd be back later. Doubtful, but eh, worth hoping for, right?

* * *

Quirking an eyebrow, Aubrey surveyed the room, noting with a bit of annoyance that everyone other then once Sergeant Mitchell was present. he had requested they all be on time, and now, Mitchell was a total of three minutes late. While that may not seem like a lot to most people, in the Amy, there minutes was a lot. It could mean life or death in some cases actually. What if an extract was 3 minutes late? The recon team, or whoever could be dead in that time Sure this was not a life or death meeting or anything even remotely close to that, but Aubrey had expected more of her Master Sergeant. Punctuality was important, not only for such life or death things, but also simply for professionalism! I mean God, care enough about your reputations, your appearance, and all that shit to just fucking be on time!

Precisely three minutes and thirty-four seconds late, Sergeant Mitchell breezed through the doors, and plopped down, reeking of the enlisted bar, and looking quite unhappy that she had to be here. Sneering slightly, Aubrey stared at the disgruntled sergeant is disgust. truly, was this the kind of work she could expect from her right hand woman? For serious? No wonder they were having so many issues! This was absolutely unacceptable. What the aca-hell was this girl's issue? I mean seriously! For the love of the NCO's what was wrong with this woman?

"Ah, Sergeant Mitchell," Aubrey sneered, her voice like acid, "Glad that you could finally join us. Pray, tell me. What in the world is your excuse for being late? I've set a very clear time I want you to be here, and now you're late. As an NCO, I would expect more from you. Considering you're a senior Master Sergeant, I would expect even more."

"Sincerest apologies ma'am," Beca said immediately standing up at attention. However, her eye's had a glint in them Aubrey didn't like, and there was an edge to the sergeant's voice Aubrey didn't like "I got caught up by the barracks talking to other enlisted personnel. Not an excuse, just why I was late. It will not happen again ma'am."

"See to it that is does not," Aubrey said, glaring at the woman.

"Yes ma'am," Beca replied, before sitting back down.

Expelling a breath, Aubrey sighed. God, sometimes, being an officer really sucked. Ugh, she really didn't want to be here right now. Oh well. She didn't actually have much of a choice. She needed a functional team BEFORE it became a life or death situation, and right now, she was having a few issues with that. Walking back to the front of the room, Aubrey surveyed the room. From the looks of it, no one wanted to be here, though they were masking it well. Well, that was just too bad for them. She needed a team.

However, she didn't have a team, and thus far, her standing, talking, and then having them talk about everything and anything wasn't working. Right now, her methods were ineffective, and she had to try something new. Looking closely at each person, she could see the fatigue in their eyes, the frustration about everything, and the hostility. Fine by her. But each one was still separate from one another. They all sat far apart, perfect posture, and eyes trained dutifully ahead. No one sat and joked, no one smiled, hell, no one even said ANYTHING with out her ordering it! Well, that had to stop. Eyes landing on Sergeant Mitchell, Aubrey smirked. She needed to change her methods, right? She had to try something new? Fine. She was going to try something new, and have a bit of fun doing so.

"Sergeant Mitchell, front and center, " Aubrey barked.

Immediately rising, Beca stood up swiftly and squared all of her corners before she stopped directly two paces in front of Aubrey and raised a salute. Reporting in, Aubrey returned the salute before she called everyone to ease.

"Alright everyone. Today, I'm going to leave this class up to Sergeant Mitchell," Aubrey said, noting with some satisfaction that Beca's eyes bulged slightly, "Sergeant Mitchell, the room is yours. You have one hour to try and get this group of people to be a team."

"Pardon me ma'am," Beca said, "But what am I suppose to do?"

"I don't know," Aubrey shrugged, pulling a chair up and sitting down, "The room is yours. Do what you want. Teach a class. Have us do agame. I don't know. What do YOU want to do?"

"Pardon me First Lieutenant, but us?" Sergeant Bryant asked.

"Yes, us," Aubrey smiled, "I am, for all intents and purposes, taking Sergeant Mitchell's place for the duration of this class. We ALL have to be a team. I need you to work with me too. Not just my staff, I want us ALL to work together. Is there a problem with that Sergeant? Actually, does ANYONE have a problem with that now?"

"No ma'am," Came the dutiful reply.

"Excellent, now Sergeant Mitchell, I would appreciate it if you would get this class started." Aubrey said, settling back into her seat.

"Well, erm, alright then," Beca said standing awkwardly in the front of the room, "So I guess I'm on team building today. So anyone have anything they want to say right now before we begin?"

The awkward silence that et Beca's question caused Aubrey's smirk to deepen.

"Okaaaaay then," Beca said, obviously trying very hard to think of something, "Oh, I got it! Everyone, break into two teams, and how about we all go out and play a pick up game of basketball. Let's play jungle rules. Any objections?"

No response, and no objection was raised, however, Aubrey smiled a bit as she saw Chloe bounce about in her seat and Luke crack his knuckles happily. hmm.. team sports were a plus. She'd have to remember that.

"Alright cool. Lieutenant Posen, would you like to be the other team captain?" Beca asked, her voice steadier as her confidence grew.

"Very well," Aubrey said, rising and standing next to the sergeant, "Would you like to pick first?"

"Sure. Bryant you're with me," Beca smiled.

"Excellent!" Sergeant Bryant said, standing up and giving Beca a high five.

"Beale, with me," Aubrey said.

"Awesome!" Chloe said happily, bouncing over.

"Swanson!" Beca barked, a fire in her eyes now.

"Applebaum. Looks like I've got you," Aubrey sighed as everyone finally got situated.

Nervously, Benji walked over, and stood by Aubrey. Chatting excitedly, Beca's team was exactly that. A team. Swanson and Bryant were talking in hushed voices, no doubt already getting their game plan together, and Beca was in the huddle to, sending smug glances over at Aubrey. Nodding, Aubrey turned to her team. Chloe was bouncing up and down right now, looking extremely happy that they were going to play basketball, and honestly, Benji looked a little pale. Lovely. Once again, a group of individuals. Oh well. She'd figure something out.

"Alright Beale, I'm assuming from your bouncing, you enjoy basketball?" Aubrey asked, no unkindly though.

"Oh defs!" Chloe said happily. "I was the captain of my high school basketball team. We're gonna crush this Lt. Posen."

"For the duration of this even, you may call me Aubrey," Aubrey said, smiling, "Alright? We're a team right now, and for now, formalities can be overlooked. That included you too Applebaum. I'm going to guess that you're not big on basketball then?"

"No ma'am- I mean Lieutenant Po- I mean Aubrey," Benji said nervously, "I'm not big on sports."

"Very well," Aubrey said, smiling a bit, hopefully putting the man at ease, "This is just for fun Applebaum. Can you have fun?"

"I think so..." Benji said, furrowing his brow, "But aren't we trying to win?"

"No, not right now," Aubrey said, "Winning, while yes, it is nice, is not everything in something as trivial as a pick up basketball game. I want us to become a TEAM Applebaum, a team. And if that means getting trounced, so be it. Though, i doubt that such will happen considering we have Chloe on our team. Just have fun, alright Benji?"

"Alright... I'll try," Benji said uncertainly.

"And that is all I ask for," Aubrey said kindly, before facing a grinning Chloe Beale, "Alright Beale, are you ready for this?"

"I was born ready Aubrey," Chloe said happily, "Game face on now! Lets go crush this!"

"Excellent!" Aubrey said, smiling, "Alright hands in. Team-"

"TEAM AWESOME!" Chloe squealed.

"Alright, team awesome it is," Aubrey smiled, "On three, alright?"

"Wait, like on three, like on, two Team awesome, or after three like one to THREE team awesome?" Chloe asked.

"She said on three, so one two team awesome then," Benji said, "Right?"

"No,, well yes, but like still!" Chloe pouted, "Aubreeeeeeey!"

"On three, so one two Team Awesome," Aubrey sighed, "It really is a simple thing, so can we just do this?"

"Fine!" Chloe huffed "But it really isn't that simple! I mean the drill manual-"

"Beale!" Aubrey barked, "Can we just do this? Hands in!"

Putting a hand out, Aubrey smiled a bit as Chloe and Benji put their hands in. Glancing over, she could see Beca's team was doing the same. Excellent. Perhaps they would have a team at the end of this night. Counting to three, Aubrey smiled as Chloe shouted Team awesome as loud as she could and Benji, while slightly less loud, still was smiling and looked rather excited.

"Alright team! Let's go do this!" Aubrey said happily. Calling over, she faced Beca, "You said Jungle rules Mitchell, so now, we'll play by those. I don't want you to come crying to me though if you get an elbow to the gut. We're going to play some basketball, and if its going to be jungle rules, I'm not going to hold back, and neither should all of you."

"You sure about that LT?" Beca smirked. "You think you can handle this?"

"Hobbit, I've got a solid 6 inches on you. I think I'll be JUST fine," Aubrey smirked, "you sure you're good with basketball though? Maybe we should go play something where your height won't be such an issue."

"Oh, you did NOT go there!" Beca huffed, "You're gonna be eating your words when we kick your ass now, I hope you get that!"

"All talk Mitchell, all talk," Aubrey laughed.

"You know what, let's just do this!" Beca growled, a fire in her eyes now. Good, this was going to be fun, "Settle this on the court."

"When you're ready hobbit!" Aubrey smirked, walking out of the room.

* * *

Aubrey gritted her teeth as Luke slammed into her and knocked her to the ground. Again. Shaking her head and getting up, she ran down the court drove her shoulder into Jesse's stomach, stole the ball and sprinted back down the court. Fuck, when she'd heard Beca say Jungle rules, she didn't think it would be this cut throat. Just as she was about to shoot, Beca came in and slammed into her, stealing the ball back.

"You doing alright LT?" Beca smirked before running off.

"Aca-fuck it," Aubrey snarled.

For serious, she'd been in war zones less hostile then this. Everyone was taking cheat shots, just about everyone had been knocked over at least twice, and it was just madness. On the bright side everyone was communicating, yelling and grunting for their teammates to either run, get the fuck open or to cover them... Yeah. Now that Aubrey thought about it, this game was just like a fucking war zone actually. Hell, even Chloe wasn't smiling, growling and fighting just as hard for the ball as the rest of them. It had only been 15 minutes, and the score was only 12 to 14, Aubrey's team being up. Chloe wasn't kidding when she said she was good...

Benji was a useless shit too, but he actually had a half decent shot, if he wasn't under too much pressure. 2 of Team Awesome's points were courtesy of him. 6 a piece from Aubrey and Chloe then. Beca was actually quite good at basketball though, scoring 8 of her teams points. Bryant had the other four, and Aubrey noted with some admiration that the man was a beast. Barreling through everyone and thing to win. Not much finesse, but meh. it was a game. His strength would be appreciated on the battlefield later. Swanson was a bitch though. Glancing over, Aubrey sighed as she saw him still clutching his stomach. Stupid fucking pussy ass bitch.

Suddenly knocked over, Aubrey shook her head as she saw Bryant stop and offer he a hand up.

"Sorry LT. Didn't mean to do that," Bryant said.

"Thanks," Aubrey said, take the hand.

The rest of the game went in the same manner, people ramming into each other, but then also giving each other a hand, regardless of teams. Smiling, Aubrey could actually say she was pleased with tonight's progress. Admittedly, she didn't appreciate getting knocked to the ground every ten seconds, but she did like the communication, and the happiness. Her team was finally coming together, and perhaps, she was going out on a limb here, perhaps, they'd get their shit together before evaluation.

* * *

**Annnnnnnnn Cut! God dammit, finally! I PUBLISHED SOMETHING! Yeah, guys, really sorry about my lack of updates, but i've got school, work, and a shit ton of other things I have to do so yerp. Revews are great though, and because I love reviews, I wrote more. On to my aca-mortals now! Yes, i really do aca thing. Just aca-deal with it.  
**

**rubiksmaniac: Aye aye captain! That's cool your in your schools JROTC! I'm a CAP girl myself. I'll keep updating though if you keep reading :)**

**Rizzlesmylies: Aww, was my writing all you misses babe? ;) And psh, nah. Bet i could get you on your knees pretty easily if I wanted. See, there's this pressure point and- you know what? I'll just show you someday ;) And babe, I look GOOD in camo. Trust me ;**

**waatp: You're such a dork you know that? Ah wells, I love it, so continue :) And thanks. We've got plenty of plot twists ahead. Lots of mortals are gonna die, because hell, they're mortals. Its what they do XD And yeah. i can do that. i think it'll be fun :)**

**cxcxcx386: Well duh. I'm just that good! lol, jk, thanks mate! but meh, see, beca's an NCO, despite her snark, she's still a professional. She's gotta deal with shit. Its what happens. It wouldn't be right for her to be so blatantly disrespectful without any cause. unfortunately though, I AM going to kill at least half of these characters. Might wanna go grab that vest...**

**Nicolicious1: haha awesome. And that's great mate! perhaps I'll see you in the force someday :) Hope Chloe (or I) doesn't disappoint then :) best of luck mate!**

**To all my aca-mortals who don't leave me a review: A, I see you, B, I wish you'd leave a review, and C Y'alls can tell me what I should do next. I got like 3 other fics right now, so tell me what else you wanna see. Update this, LOAD, ABOFBS, JBNB, or whatever othern acrony or word i can give to a title. Fucking deal with it! I'm going to go take my algebra test and french exam! **

**But before do that, everyone, PLEASE go check out sleepwalkers! its done by the amazing waapt, and I'm her beta... really, I'm doing nothing more then saying its all good. Fucking AWESOME fic, and you should go check it out. I think if you like aliens and the military, you'd like that Sleepwalkers. Seriously, its incredible, and waapt's got skillz. Alright. I'm done. NOW GO CHECK SLEEPWALKERS OUT!**


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